Kelly Cup champion Tyler Crawford (left) with
tournament chairman Jim Grover
BURBANK, CA (April 30, 2017) -Tyler Crawford found his groove early at Lakeside Golf Club in Friday’s first round, posting an even par 70 and setting the pace at the Kelly Cup. He shared the lead with Robert Funk of Bear Creek that afternoon, but after a second round 71 on Saturday (with Funk shooting a 75), he would never trail, though things did get interesting on the front nine.
“I was hoping to get off to a good start and post a good front nine, thinking that would put it away, but Funk would have none of that,” said Crawford.
Both players walked off the 6th green 1-under for the day. However, while Funk continued his steady front nine play, Crawford hopped aboard the bogey train from Nos. 7 to 9 to tighten things up considerably.
Heading to the back nine with his four-shot lead cut to one, Crawford needed a break to get his confidence back. Both players proceeded to par the tricky par-4 10th, but then Crawford got the break he needed.
The right-handed Funk pushed his tee shot on the tight par-4 11th, and the left-to-right afternoon breeze did the rest, as the ball sailed out-of-bounds.
“I got a bit out of my routine there and it cost me,” said Funk, the two-time SCGA Mid-Amateur Champion.
“After that, Tyler played steadily and I could never get it closer than four shots. I joked with him on the last two holes that he could five-putt to make it close, but he would have none of that.”
Crawford conquered the difficult course -- which stands in the shadows of Universal Studios -- with a final round 72 for a four-shot victory over Funk, who matched Crawford in the first and final rounds, but gave up those four important shots on Saturday’s second round.
Both players likely knew they couldn't get too comfortable playing each other, especially after the first round. That's because 9-time champion, and former U.S. Public champ Tim Hogarth was just two shots back. But after Hogarth stumbled to a 77 on Saturday and fell nine-shots back of Crawford, he was going to need some serious help to win, and Crawford (who plays out of Plantation Golf Club in the Coachella Valley) didn't give him any.
Hogarth did come back with a solid 72 to finish in solo fourth place, just a shot back of Kyle George of San Gabriel CC, who placed third at 10-over 220, while carding the tournament’s low round, a solid 69 on the tournament’s final day.
The conditions each day were drastically different. Day one was played in dawn to dusk winds of 20 – 25 mph, with gusts to 40 mph coming mostly from the north. The second day was 15 mph most of the day, but from the east much of the day, while the final round was mostly calm, with only a slight breeze as the day wore on. It made the always tough Lakeside Kelly Cup set-up even more difficult and unpredictable than usual.
According to Crawford, “It’s amazing how hard the course can play, even with perfect weather. It just gets in your head and waits for you to make a mistake. And you never seem to get away with just one—they seem to multiply out of control. Lakeside is a great test.”
Editors Note: Article by David Ober
ABOUT THE Kelly Cup
Invitational tournament contested in honor of
Lakeside Golf Club's finest amateur golfer, Roger
Kelly, who was at the top of California amateur
golf in the 1930's.
The tournament is flighted by handicap,
although
every player is eligible to win the overall
competition. There is also a senior flight for ages 55
and older.
Prizes are awarded in each flight, with
all first-place ties broken by sudden-death
playoff. Tim Hogarth has captured the title an
amazing 9 times.
Host course Lakeside Golf Club is one of
Southern
California's finest with a long history of competitive
golf. Celebrity contestants have included Bing
Crosby (who was a club champ) and more recently
Justin Timberlake.
View Complete Tournament Information